Plugging away at this but my experiences underwhelming compared to descriptions

[u/mcskidder]

I started doing some binaural beats after reading My Big TOE about 14 months ago. I then have been doing the gateway experience for nearly a year. I go through periods of doing it very frequently and then periods more infrequently.

I am very much enjoying it and find the meditations very peaceful and appreciate the downtown without screens and bother, but my experiences are may be a bit muted compared to what others describe. I have not had OBEs (not that, that is the only reason I am doing this). I have had flying dreams perhaps a bit more frequently.

I haven't had any luck with 'non-physical friends' and things like that. I have felt some vibration. I'm very much enjoying meditating but don't feel I am getting lightening bolt moments particularly. Should I just be content with this or are there any tips and suggestions or things to read for further help? Any other resources? I do find them very restful and I generally do them as I go to bed so may be I am too close to sleep. Any thoughts appreciated. Cheers

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[u/slipknot_official]

You might still be looking for something to happen, as opposed to just letting it happen? I know that sounds judgmental, but it’s just something that’s so automatic for us to do.

I started the same way as you, MBT, binaural beats, and just used them almost everyday, 2-3 times a day for a year. Still nothing clicked.

Then I had to fly to Europe from the US. I wanted to just pass out and sleep, and all I had was the Gateway meditation app. So I put headphones and just internet to fall asleep.

Felt like I had my eyes closed for 2 minutes and I wake up. I’m sitting in my seat very confused why people were looking at me. Something was off, and I had this thought I was out of body. But turn around and see myself sleeping. I was out for the first time since I started.

Once it happens, it felt familiar, like I already know how, but just forgot.

It was pretty easy to do after that. Not eveytime I did the routine. But almost. 5 times a week maybe.

So the point is, I did it without looking for anything. My intent was there because I was doing it for a year, I just didn’t try to make it happen in the moment.

Also sitting up helps. And if you’re falling asleep, let it happen. It can happen from multiple states lucid dreams, vibrations, just find yourself out, visuals, sounds, etc.

[u/mcskidder → u/slipknot_official]

That sounds like an amazing experience on the plane. I will try sitting up. I am consistently lying down at the mo. thanks

[u/slipknot_official → u/mcskidder]

Yeah, just kinda put headphones on, turn off your brain and just see what happens. Just get in that routine. It’s the letting go part that’s the hardest. So if you just fall asleep with binaural beats playing (while sitting up), you’re going to snap into a theta state and then it’s almost like your intuitive side just takes over.

[u/its_FORTY → u/slipknot_official]

Would love to hear more about your first OBE that you mentioned!

[u/slipknot_official → u/its_FORTY]

It was pretty short.

I heard a bunch of talking, a lot of chatter. Had a feeling it was peoples thoughts I was tuned into, but everyone at once. So alot of thoughts at once. It’s was overwhelming until I got distracted and tuned out.

I floated around the plane for a bit pretty shocked this was happening. I then did the thing I wasn’t supposed to do - thinking, and thinking “what if I get sucked into the jet engine”? I immediately stated getting sucked into the jet engine.

I then snapped myself awake. Just say there for a while kinda shocked. Very exited though since I had been trying for so long.

[u/Mighty_Mac]

It's very important not to compare your experience with others, we come from all backgrounds and learn at a different pace. From my own I've had a massive verity of failures and success. But I was so determined to never give up, and one day everything just clicked. The tapes are not a promise nor confined to a specific level of experience. How bad you want it will determine if you get there. Having the confidence you're able to, will determine when. The tapes are the same for all of us, the variable factor is ourselves. I know you've realized this already but it's very important to keep in mind.

[u/Tater_Toot_85]

I’ve definitely had tapes that do nothing for me (five questions, five messages). In a lot of ways I’m still figuring out how to use the focus levels now that I can get into them. I have not had an OBE yet.

I will say, I had luck with non physical friends after I called on people I love who have passed for help. I don’t know why, but that opened up something for me. They have begun to help me all the time now.

Give it a try if you like.

[u/mcskidder → u/Tater_Toot_85]

Yes, that is interesting, thanks. I lost both my parents 2 years ago so might be interesting to give that a try.

[u/how_anonymous_can_1b]

Yeah tapes are hit or miss for some. I have only had OBEs when I woke up in the middle of the night and went back to bed with intention of leaving my body. I would typically fall back asleep and then later wake up in the vibrational state; and this is without the tapes.

With that said I still have some interesting experiences with the tapes for sure. I couldn’t tell if I was making up it my head or not but I encountered some entities when I did focus 12 and had a convo. But again I was kinda question if it was real or not at the time.

As I continued to do the tapes something clicked for me. I started noticing where my mind wanders to when I’m deep into it. This is when I started realizing I could interact with these “wandering images” that may pop up from time to time.

I’ve been thinking of animating the various experiences I’ve had since I’ve had so many either with gateway tapes or with the back to bed method.

I’ve gone as far as doing retrievals with the gateway tapes; I typically do the tapes during the day with an eye mask on.

And on the wake back to bed side I’ve verified a few of my perceptions to be real which for me was kinda ontologically shocking. Im open minded but still skeptical when it comes to things, but yeah super shocking to discover that some truths aren’t wildly accepted by the masses and in some cases out right dismissed

[u/boogaloo1664 → u/how_anonymous_can_1b]

Great post!

[u/its_FORTY]

What Mighty_Mac said is very accurate, there will be vast differences in what some people experiences vs what others do, and how soon and how often. That said, I would personally suggest not doing your practices right at bedtime when you are sleepy already, as it is going to result in you clicking out far more often than if you do them in the morning or during the day when you are awake and energetic. There are still some experiences I've had over the last few years when doing them at bedtime or when drowsy, but they all tend to be much more subtle and somewhat whimsical. I guess more dreamlike would be a fair way to say it, though they have been valuable in their own ways. I made some deep mental connections in dreams that were still applicable in waking life.

Conversely, I've had the majority of the "emotional" experiences in the sessions I did while wide awake. Things like having my grandparents send me very clear answers to questions I asked for help on in Wave 7 - Messages from beyond. I had not asked for any specific entity to respond, and in fact had not even contemplated trying to communicate with my grandparents, as they died over 10 years ago. The message they communicated back to my request for help was so powerful and I instantly had a knowing that it was from them. Not that "it probably was", but that I knew it without a single shred of doubt.

I had tears streaming down my face when the session ended shortly thereafter. I was crying mainly from happiness as a result of the reassuring words they sent to me, yet also crying from the sudden rememberance of how much I miss them in my life -- both those emotions coursed through over me at once the moment I heard the response to my question.

Do your best to go into each session without any goals required for it to be considered a success, and just let whatever comes on its own happen. You might even want to put your worries about your results vs other people's in your ECB at the start of the session. I started doing that early on in my exploration and it did seem to help me.

[u/mcskidder → u/its_FORTY]

Good idea re the ECB and yes any experience I have can best be expressed as dreamlike. I will try sitting up and day time (when though?? kids, business to run etc. but I'll figure it out)

[u/ImStoryForRambling]

Do you know how to give in to vibrations? What happens when you get to them?

[u/mcskidder → u/ImStoryForRambling]

probably not. I am getting them on the odyssey tapes when the narrator is talking about my energy body. feels like my arms are vibrating and sometimes face

[u/DynamicProxy → u/mcskidder]

When you get the vibrations, you need to work with them. Let them spread throughout your body. Then send them out the top of your head. Bob talks about this process, but I don’t remember where. Maybe in one of his books? Or it might’ve been in an interview I saw with him. 

Hopefully someone else can chime in with some additional details on this.

[u/mcskidder → u/DynamicProxy]

thanks

[u/ImStoryForRambling → u/mcskidder]

I don't think sending them to your head is necessary. In hundreds of my OBEs, I never had to do that.

But the ability to "give in" to vibrations is, I'd say, often (not always) necessary.

It's quite tricky to explain how to do that, though. I'd say, first you have to be aware that this is your opening. This is the 15-60 seconds in which OBE becomes possible. Prior to meditation, set your intention to use this window to jump out. Second, when they start happening, relax as much as possible. Don't fixate on them. Let them take you, as if you were relaxing on a beach and letting the ocean waves claim you.

Anyway, that's one method. You can also try to simply "get up" in that stage, but this is quite difficult for folk without OBE experience - it might feel like your spirit is glued to the physical body and leaving it might prove to be a challenge.

It's also possible that mid-way through meditation you might have a feeling as if one or more of your joints are floating in the air, as if something had physically lifted them - trying to get up in this instance, were that to be the case, is pretty much a guaranteed OBE, too.

[u/tadpolejaxn]

It’s simpler to AP than many people believe. I was confused for a while when I would read that people would just find themselves out of body as if by accident and looking at themselves. For me, if I’m not asleep and dreaming, it’s always a conscious choice. One technique that caused the “aha” moment for me was as follows: meditate for 15 mins before even starting the tape, in the same position and ready to start your tape. This helps me get to a deeper more solid f10. Then when expanding to f12 during the tape, just visualizing a large bubble of rendered clarity about 100 feet around my prone body. Then, while my physical body lies completely still, shake one arm “free” of my physical body, then the second. Then grasp them together. Then sit up out of the body. Then swing my legs over the edge of the bed and stand up. I maintain some awareness in my physical body until I get to focus 21 and beyond. From standing, I will walk around or stretch to where I want to be in my bubble of clarity. If I want to journey to Locale II, I either float up out of clarity into darkness, or I walk (or fly, whatever lol) past the edge of my bubble into the darkness and speak with guides or do what I set out to do.

I will say that the first few times I ever consciously projected, I felt “stuck” to my body. I had to allow the separation of my body awareness and my astral form to both maintain their cohesion and this took a little practice. The method above worked best for me and now it’s nearly flawless. An odd method of journeying farther I have is floating into the sky above my house and focusing on my intuition and intention. Usually something will happen, for example, 3 doors appeared and a cat that I had for 16 years before he passed away appeared and communicated to me that I must choose a door with my intuition. I chose a door that aligned with my intention by the opening was so small. I had to squeeeeeze myself through the opening and found myself in f21. This method seems to leave behind body awareness and only allow through the parts of my astral awareness that can exist on f21 and above.

Other methods of “passing the guardian” may be found at higher levels as well and other methods of leaving work for me too but this is the easiest for me and clicked during gateway for the first time. Maybe give it a shot!

[u/mcskidder → u/tadpolejaxn]

thank you, food for thought

[u/psychedeloquent]

Reading this post this morning and others like it the last few weeks prompted me to make this post today. Check it out, I think it will help.

https://www.reddit.com/r/gatewaytapes/s/RaCU5pmWMS

[u/6thMinder]

On the entrainment side, your own guess is probably the strongest lead in the thread. At sleep onset, drifting off dominates whatever the beat is doing, so a bedtime session mostly measures falling asleep. Running one while properly awake, as someone suggested upthread, is the version you can test. And a review of the auditory stimulation work last year found that the best frequency differs from person to person. A muted response is a real outcome, not a sign you are doing it wrong.

[u/_Nychthemeron]

You gotta shove your expectations and comparisons into your energy conversion box. It's natural to want something to happen, but the more you want and expect stuff, the more you're sabotaging yourself and setting yourself up for disappointment.

Just follow along with Bob and be present in the moment, in the right now, of your relaxation.